Rich History Oneshots
by 2fruity4u
Summary: All the Rich History goodness I have written, all in one convenient place! Rated T for possible future hurt. As these are one shots, they do not make a continuous story, please keep this in mind!
1. Tea Time

Tea. The Master of All Time had invited him over for tea.

It sounded absurd and very intimidating when he thought about it and yet here he was, at the lair of the legendary ghost. When Clockwork had stopped their fight he had expected a death sentence or something even worse but he had just reversed time to before he and Danny crossed paths on this particular day and told Vlad to meet him in his lair, which happened to be a giant clocktower. This whole afternoon was strange, the strangest thing of all though? Vlad didn't feel intimidated in the slightest. It wasn't his ego, even he knew when he was outmatched. It just turned out that Clockwork himself was so... amiable? Or maybe all the ghost zone lore he studied had put a very different picture of who the ghost was in his mind. Whatever the case was, Vlad found himself completely at ease in the clocktower sitting across from him.

Currently Clockwork was telling him about the history of football. Vlad was happy to listen, how often could you hear a first hand account of a thing like that? Clockwork was equally delighted that someone wanted to listen. Not often did he have visitors, and those who did stop by were never interested in his stories.

They were both interrupted when an observant invited himself in, talking about a distant catastrophe that needed fixing. Clockwork looked mildly irritated and Vlad shrunk back in his seat. He was hoping that the myth about the two working together was false but obviously that was not the case. Well it was a nice visit while it lasted, maybe Clockwork wouldn't hand him over to the observants, but that was wishful thinking really.

The observant looked at the pair having afternoon tea and glared, as much as a being with an eye for a face could, at Vlad.  
"What is he doing here?" The accusatory tone served to let him know how unwelcome he was as far as the floating eyeball was concerned.

Clockwork put down his teacup with a sigh. "Well he _was_ listening about the origins of the NFL before you so rudely interrupted us."

"Do you know what trouble he has caused, what he released onto the human world? It took months to rebuild our sentencing room after he destroyed it!"

"Yes, I am well aware of his past actions against the high council. I am also trying to enjoy my afternoon with Vladimir here. As such I trust that you see him as my guest and treat him with respect."

Vlad was floored, he _knew_ about what he had done to the Observants and he still invited him over? The observant however didn't seem surprised in the least, just enraged. He floated back out of the room, muttering something about problematic ghosts to himself.

"Well, now that he is gone, where was I?" He asked Vlad who was still fairly dumbstruck.

"You knew about me breaking Vortex out?" Vlad questioned. "And you still wanted me to come here and have tea with you?"

Clockwork looked at him with an amused expression. "Of course I did, I know everything that has come to pass and everything that could come to be. I trust you would know at least that much about me. Besides, anyone who can surpass me in annoying the Observants is always welcome in my home."

Vlad had known, it was just hard to grasp that someone knew the full extent of his wrongdoings and still wanted him around. This was the first time anyone who knew everything willingly spent time with him.

Clockwork took another sip of tea and continued where he had left off. Here he was, having tea with the Master of all Time and it was anything but normal.


	2. Second Chances

It had been a particularly hard week for Vlad. He was trying to be better about antagonizing Danny, as he had promised Clockwork, but the boy would not stop bugging him about his next "evil scheme". He was behind in the polls for re-election of office and his company was facing a scandal in the lower division that made their shares plummet. There were other concerns in the back of his mind but due to their nature he could hardly discuss them with Clockwork. He had been holding out for the weekend, Saturdays were when he visited the time ghost, but come Thursday the pressures of everything were getting to be too much and he needed to talk to someone. He hoped that Clockwork wouldn't mind a surprise visit. Not that it /would/ be a surprise where he was concerned.

He paged his secretary and told her he would be out for lunch then brought out the time medallion Clockwork had given to him and used it to teleport himself to the clocktower. As he arrived he could see that Clockwork had been expecting him, their chairs were set out near the window and there was a note that informed him that he would be back within ten minuets of his arrival. He sat down with a sigh, he disliked waiting for the ghost, the lair was a lot less friendly without him. But he understood why he had to, Clockwork was an important ghost with a lot of responsibilities. He took his phone out and busied himself with sorting out his schedule for the next week while waiting. He had three different meetings planned at the same time, two would just have to go. But which..?

"Now Vladimir, I thought that we agreed that the outside world stays outside."

He jumped and nearly dropped his phone. "I ah... yes we did. I apologize." He had been so caught up in his week he had forgotten. He quickly put the phone back in his pocket. "I have just been a little bit distracted, I am sorry."  
Clockwork held up his hand. "Stop apologizing, it's fine, I understand."

He blushed slightly. "Okay, sor... so how are you this afternoon?" He tried to cover.

Clockwork noticed of course but humored Vlad. "I am well, there is not too terribly much happening in the timelines, though I will admit I was surprised when I saw you coming here today. Of course, you are always welcome." He quickly assured Vlad with a smile, the kind that made Vlad go a little weak in the knees. "I do wonder what prompted your visit, if you don't mind me asking of course."

"I have been having the worst week I have had in years. Everything that can go wrong is going wrong and I really needed to get away from town hall before I pull my hair out." He ran a hand through his hair and attempted to calm himself, probably proving his point. "I just feel like every time I turn around everything goes from bad to worse and I don't know how to fix it." Situations he couldn't control were probably the single most stressful thing he could think of and he was dealing with several.

Clockwork waited for him to continue but he didn't. In fact Vlad seemed to be lost in his own thoughts which happened so rarely that it surprised even him.

"Vladimir, I don't normally do this but... I can tell you it all works itself out. By Sunday at the very latest. As for Daniel, I can have a talk with him if you'd like, tell him you have nothing up your sleeve right now. Though I feel like that isn't your only concerns, am I right?"

Vlad looked up at him with wide eyes. He has never, not once in his time of visiting him, told him anything about the future. He had tried to get him to before and he was always so tight lipped. "Yes... But why are you...?"

"Because you are going to have an aneurysm if you keep on worrying like this... that was a hyperbole, not a statement about the future." He added when he saw Vlad freeze in fear. "You are quite healthy, but this much stress is bad for you, even someone who is all dead knows that."

Vlad wasn't sure what to say, he couldn't tell him the truth, but he sure couldn't tell him a lie. Usually talking came so easy when he was with Clockwork but this wasn't. Not when he had something to hide. "I... you don't want to know. Really." He wasn't going to let his feelings get in the way of another one of his friendships, not one he just started.

"Vlad, you can tell me whatever is on your mind. I will listen to whatever you have to say and I will not react negatively, I promise."

That put Vlad a bit more at ease, Clockwork was perhaps the most honorable ghost he had ever known. His word was something that could always be trusted.

"I..." He looked down, he could already feel himself blushing. "I think I might be falling in love with you." He looked back up to gauge Clockworks reaction and was surprised when his gaze was met with a smile.

"I was starting to think you were never going to tell me, every time there was a possibility for it to happen you never took it."

"You knew?" Vlad asked in disbelief. Clockwork knew just about everything but for some reason he assumed that he couldn't know this. What reason did he have for humoring Vlad if he knew this would be the outcome? "How long have you known?"  
"Shortly after you started visiting me here."

"Oh...I see." That explained why Clockwork invited him to the clocktower in the first place but it didn't explain why he kept inviting him back once he found out. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"It wasn't until month later that I realized I felt the same way about you." He paused briefly to let Vlad process that.

He couldn't believe this. It had to be a dream or something of the sort. How could it be that someone as like clockwork held him in such regards?

"I... I think I may have misheard you. For a second I thought you said..."

Clockwork took his hand and looked at him with a very serious expression. "You heard what I said and I mean every word of it. When we first met I offered you a second chance. Now I am asking, will you allow /me/ to be your second chance?" Vlad wordlessly nodded. If this was a dream he didn't want to wake up. Clockwork placed a kiss on his hand.

"Thank you."


	3. Uncertainty

It wasn't often that Clockwork went into the human world. He preferred the comfort of his clocktower over anything else. However there were two people who he made exceptions for and was worried which didn't sit well with him. It didn't help that he couldn't take a quick look at the timeline to assure himself everything was okay. At first he had made a promise that he wouldn't look into Vlad's future but now he found that he couldn't. The closer he got to a person in the present, the more they would blur out of the timestream. He resolved to just check in on him and if Vlad was busy he would leave him be.

As Clockwork appeared in Vlad's lab he took in the neglected appearance. From the look of the thin layer of dust settled over everything he realized no one had been in it for a week at the very least. It worried him but he wasn't going to jump to conclusions just yet. Vlad could have plenty of good reasons not to use his lab for an extended period of time. He had three other fully functional facilities and a lot of work unrelated to ghosts that could keep him tied up. If he didn't find him here then he could check at his other houses as well. He phased through the floor and looked around the library, all the lights were off but there were more signs of activity here, the big one being wood still dimly glowing in the fireplace.

"Vlad? Are you here? You didn't show up at the clocktower today and I was concerned..."

The smell of some very strong drink permeated the air. He phased fully into the room with a frown. After a brief search he found Vlad asleep at his desk surrounded by a few empty bottles. He looked like he had a rough night which would explain why he broke their plans for today. Clockwork was still worried however. Vlad never drank just to have a few drinks, he drank to relive stress or overwhelming emotions. What had been causing him so much worry or hurt him that he needed to drown himself in this much alcohol? He supposed that question would have to wait until Vlad woke up. He took off his cloak, draped it around the sleeping half ghost, and then sat down in a nearby chair and waited.

It was a few hours before Vlad stirred but when he did confusion crossed his face, he didn't remember grabbing a blanket, he didn't even keep any in his study. Maybe he had grabbed one from somewhere else and just didn't remember. Whatever the case, the mystery didn't bother him too much because it was warm and it smelled nice, almost like... His eyes flew open and he looked around, first looking at the purple material around him and then landing on the time ghost glowing brightly in the dark.

"Clockwork? What... why are you here?"

He sat up, hurrying to fix his appearance. He was an utter mess and he knew it. Why did he have to stop by now? He didn't want him to think less of him for this sort of thing. Thinking back to their last visit however, the unexpected visit might have been his fault. He vaguely remembered some promise to visit today... or maybe that was yesterday. Usually if something came up he would let Clockwork know that he wouldn't be coming.

"I think you know very well why I am here. I was concerned, but more importantly I am interested as to why you seem to be drowning your sorrows in drink."

Vlad looked away, in part because the brightness in the dark wasn't helping the headache that started to develop, but also because he knew he messed up. Drinking himself into a stupor was never a good idea, and not just because of the hangover. It usually only made things worse. However the promise of an escape, no matter how temporary was just too tempting. He sighed and rested his head back on the desk.

"You know me... always looking for the quick fix to my problems. What easier way than becoming comatose?" He tried to laugh it off but it sounded so pathetic that he stopped himself.

"I see, and what problem were you trying to fix with..." Clockwork floated up to the desk and picked up a bottle and inspected the label. "Imperia vodka?"  
Vlad just shook his head, this wasn't something he wanted to do right now. He wanted to sleep this off and hopefully forget about what was worrying him for a while longer.

"Vladimir..." Clockwork put a hand on his shoulder. "Nothing is going to get better if you keep it all bottled up. Why don't you tell me what's wrong and we can figure it out together. You don't have to deal with things all by yourself anymore. I'm here."

Vlad tensed up and phased away from the other, distancing himself. It had always been at the back of his mind, ever since they started spending time together but it got harder to ignore as time went on. He had to ask, he had to know.

"Why?" He asked, barely above a whisper.

"Why what?" Clockwork frowned, the cold shoulder act wasn't like him. They were always open with each other.

"Why do you even care about some old man like me? I need you much more than you will ever need me. What makes me so special?"

Clockwork sighed. He knew this would come up sooner or later, even without looking into the future he knew Vlad had awful self esteem. He always put up a confidant, somewhat pompous act but underneath that was a lot of uncertainty.

"Vlad, you have to understand. I have watched you for so long, felt so much of your pain... your story is far from over and it's lonely because you close yourself off from everyone, from the world. It's not a way to live, I know because I have been living that kind of life for a long time. You still have so much to do, so much to _experience_. I do to, and I can't do it without you. Because I am tired of watching the world through a screen, watching you get hurt over and over and over again with no way to help. I am tired of doing it alone."

Vlad was silent for a few minuets, thinking over the time ghost's words. Finally he looked up the other with a sorrowful expression.

"So... I am just some interesting case to you? A book you enjoy reading?" He asked in a defeated tone. "I am just some character... or maybe a pawn."

"No! Vlad, that isn't it. You are so much more, to both the world and me. You don't see it but you have so much worth. I didn't intervene because I think of you as some piece in a game of chess. I did because I wanted to know you. I wanted to show you there is more to life than what you think there is. I did it because I really care about you. I did it because... because you mean more to me than anyone else ever has." He took the others hands in his own. "I'm sorry if I did not make that clear, or I lead you to a false conclusion. You are not only my closest friend, but so much more."

Vlad stared at their intertwined hands, trying to keep himself from embarrassing himself further by crying. Tears were already threatening to spill over.

"You really mean it? Every word?" He couldn't believe it to be true. For someone to love him, to care about him? Especially when that someone was Clockwork, it just seemed impossible. "It really matters to you? What happens to me?"

Clockwork leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "More than anything else in the universe."


	4. Rainy Day

Vlad was set and determined to get back home before the sky opened up on him. This day just seemed to keep going from bad to worse. First while he was down in the lab, doing some cleaning before heading off to work he had the unfortunate experience of picking up the wrong end of the Plasmius Maximus. He still got to work in time and only looked a little worse for wear. In his rush he had parked in a no parking zone and now his car was impounded. And now he was kicking himself for not checking the weather. Here he was in the middle of Amity Park's park and... it started to rain. Great.

Vlad was about to start running when he sensed someone appear to the right of him, even with his powers temporally disabled it would be hard to miss the umbrella now being held over him.

"You really should pay more attention to the weather. You could get sick, half ghost or not."

He turned to the side and saw Clockwork. As he was, he could pass for human, so long as you didn't look too closely at his eyes which retained a slight glow. He had his white hair braided back and was wearing an outfit Vlad had picked out for him and his time staff took the shape of a walking cane.

"Having a bad day?" He asked, offering Vlad his arm.

Vlad took it, a smile already on his face. "You have no idea." It was true, as far as Vlad knew Clockwork told him that he had resolved to not look into Vlad's future anymore, that way he could enjoy their time in the present.

"Well why don't we go into one of the coffee shops ahead and you can tell me all about it." He suggested, smiling as well.

"Yes, that sounds very nice." Vlad gave him a peck on the cheek and they continued down the path together.

Maybe today wasn't all that bad after all.


	5. Lazy Day

It was a lazy day by both of their standards, no work for Vlad and no time matters to deal with for Clockwork. They had spent at least two hours just cuddling in bed. When they finally did get up Vlad offered to make breakfast. The second he left the warmth of the bed he regretted offering. It was a cold December morning and even a fire core half ghost like himself was a bit chilly. He transformed into his ghost half, which helped a little bit, and made his way to the kitchen to start up some food.

After a little while Clockwork floated in still dressed in his pajamas, only bothering to throw on his cloak and of course his clocks.

"Good morning dear." He came up behind the other ghost and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm not too sure about that… i'm freezing." Vlad's words were accentuated by small shivers. He probably needed to have his heater checked out. It wasn't often he stayed in his Wisconsin house anymore and it was a good possibility it went out on him.

"Hm…" Clockwork took off his cloak and draped it around Vlad. "Better?"

"Much." Vlad nodded with an appreciative look.

"Unfortunately cloak time on a cold day like this is going to cost you." Clockwork tisked, his arms wrapped around Vlad's shoulders.

"Oh really? And what is the going rate for some 'cloak time'" Vlad asked with a bemused grin.

"Not too terribly much, just one kiss."

Clockwork took hold of the sides of the hood, intending to twirl Vlad around for a kiss. Instead when he went to turn him around Vlad tripped over his own two feet and since Clockwork was still holding onto him, they both went crashing to the ground with a thud.

Clockwork mouthed an oops and Vlad looked somewhat dazed by the turn of events. That was until he leaned in and gave Clockwork a kiss on the lips. "I believe that pays my debt in full."

Clockwork couldn't help it, he started laughing and soon Vlad joined in. They stayed like that for a while, foreheads pressed together, laughing at their own clumsiness. It wasn't like breakfast was going anywhere.


	6. I'm giving up

Clockwork had been looking at every possible option, every future. It didn't matter, it always happened the same way. It always went sour. He couldn't prevent the inevitable, no matter how much he wanted to. He had enjoyed his time around Vladimir, even if the hybrid was adamant that he didn't feel the same.

The time for confessing such had come and gone. The future that once seemed so promising had never come to pass. He felt some longing for what could have been, the wonderful life they could have. Them spending their existences together for the rest of forever. All that he saw through the screens so many times. They would be together, both happy, no longer lonely.

But it wouldn't happen. Why was that so hard to accept? He had seen worse. People who died in worse ways, people who went insane and power hungry, people who died alone without ever accomplishing anything. why did it bother him so much that this man who was so far gone down the path of self destruction just couldn't be saved?

Of course he knew the answer.

He had fallen in love, and it hurt. It hurt more than anything he had ever experienced to know the half truth of a future would never happen. It was that hurt that drove him to Vlad's mansion.

Clockwork appeared in front of Vlad. He was working on some new scheme to win the affections of that woman, just like he would be doing until the day he died. It would never work.

"Clockwork." The half ghost acknowledged, not looking up from his plans.

"Vladimir I-"

"Don't tell me you are here to tell me this plan won't work, because I won't hear it. I know this will work, it's foolproof."

"No. I'm not here to tell you your plan will fail. The time for that has passed."

Vlad looked up, something in Clockwork's tone was unusual, not to mention he had never passed up an opportunity to tell him how his schemes would flop.

"Why are you here then?"  
"I... " The Master of Time lacked his usual composure and it was somewhat unsettling.

"Just… say something." Clockwork begged

"Tell me what you won't, don't do this to yourself." Clockwork already knew it was hopeless. There was no future where Vlad admitted his mistakes now, no future where he confessed his long dead feelings. He just couldn't let it go. He couldn't give up on the half ghost without one more try.

"You are talking nonsense, if you have no useful input then you should just leave."

Clockwork simply nodded and left. There was nothing more to be done.

Several weeks later as Vlad floated in space after his latest and greatest attempt, Clockwork took a day off from his job for the first time.

He just couldn't face the moment the asteroid would hit Vlad, ending his existence.

Everything was as it should be and it was that fact that broke the time master's heart.


End file.
